Pause. Rewind. Let’s debate city cable tax

With barely a week’s notice and during the final week before Christmas, the Spokane City Council is proposing to raise a discriminatory tax on Monday. Yes, tomorrow.

The Spokane City Council may almost double your tax on watching cable television from 6 percent to 11 percent. An average customer who pays about $55 a month would see an increase in the monthly taxes paid to the city from $3.30 to $6.05 a month, a whopping 83 percent increase. If approved, the city of Spokane would have one of the highest cable television tax rates for a major city in the state. This is an unfair tax increase on cable television customers, and a bad message for the city to send to businesses in Spokane and other businesses that may be considering moving to the area.

We ask the council to reconsider this proposal.

Now, you may read this column, study the issue, and decide that a tax on Comcast customers is fine. I would not agree with you, but that’s democracy in action. However, I think we can all agree that a new and discriminatory tax should not be hastily approved by the city without time for study, analysis, discussion and debate within the community. So at the very least, I hope you will contact City Council members and ask them to take their time on this plan for a higher, discriminatory tax. They owe it to you, their constituents. Budgets get amended all the time in a year in various cities, so there is no good reason for the council to raise taxes with minimal notice to you.

I have two concerns about this proposed tax increase. If this tax were being applied to everyone in Spokane, it would be just a question of whether you want higher taxes. That’s a pretty straightforward question. But this higher tax is more complicated.

This proposed tax is not just a higher tax — it’s a discriminatory tax, aimed at securing additional funds from only those who watch cable television. Other local service providers — power, telephone, and gas — remain at the 6 percent tax rate. Our direct broadcast satellite competitors pay no taxes to the city.

Put another way, this proposed increase is like the city charging customers of Safeway a 5 percent surcharge on their grocery bills, while charging customers of Tidyman’s nothing.

Some on the City Council try to explain this tax increase as “closing a loophole.” This characterization is incorrect and misleading. Our customers currently pay a 5 percent franchisee fee and a 1 percent utility tax to the city, reaching the same 6 percent tax rate charged to other companies who use the city rights-of-way. If this measure is approved on Monday, our customers will pay 11 percent. To someone who has to pay their bill each month, that isn’t a loophole, it’s an increase, pure and simple.

The 6 percent in taxes that Comcast customers currently pay drives $2.2 million in local taxes into the city’s coffers, in addition to approximately $207,000 in fees to support the city’s public education and government access channels. Again, our competitors, the satellite dish companies, pay nothing.

I understand the City Council is in a difficult financial position. However, a solution to a budget crisis should not discriminate against customers of any particular business, whether the business is an individual antique gallery, Comcast, a hotel or The Spokesman-Review. That’s just unfair. It’s unfair to the business, and it’s unfair to the customers.

Again, there is no question our city is facing a difficult financial situation. However, the solution is not to implement a discriminatory tax increase. I think our City Council members will agree if they take more time to consider the matter. I don’t think they would want to raise taxes in this fashion if they give themselves more time for consideration and discussion.

Please, let the city know what you think about this proposed tax increase. There’s not much time to act. You can call City Hall at (509) 625-6255, send a fax at (509) 625-6059 or e-mail the council at citycouncil@spokanecity.org. Thank you for your attention, and have a wonderful holiday season.